Carrier sense multiple access (csma) protocols for power line communications (plc)

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for carrier sense multiple access (CSMA) protocols for power line communications (PLC) are described. In some embodiments, a method may include performing a virtual carrier sensing operation and, in response to the virtual carrier sensing operation indicating that a communication channel is idle, calculating a contention window. The method may also include performing a physical carrier sensing operation subsequent to the virtual carrier sensing operation, the physical carrier sensing operation based, at least in part, upon the contention window. In response to the physical carrier sensing operation indicating that the communication channel is idle, the method may then include transmitting data over the channel. In other embodiments, another method may include determining that a data transmission is a unicast transmission and that an acknowledgement message has not been received. The method may further include incrementing a backoff parameter and repeating one or more carrier sense operations.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/744,295, filed Jun. 19, 2015, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/264,676, filed Apr. 29, 2014, now U.S. Pat. No.9,094,234, granted Jul. 28, 2015, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/300,812, filed Nov. 21, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No.8,711,873, granted Apr. 29, 2014, which also claims the benefit of thefiling date of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/424,159, whichis entitled “CSMA Method for Advanced Metering Infrastructure Networks”and was filed on Dec. 17, 2010, the disclosure of each application ishereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments are directed, in general, to power line communications(PLC), and, more specifically, to carrier sense multiple access (CSMA)protocols for PLC.

BACKGROUND

Power line communications (PLC) include systems for communicating dataover the same medium (i.e., a wire or conductor) that is also used totransmit electric power to residences, buildings, and other premises.Once deployed, PLC systems may enable a wide array of applications,including, for example, automatic meter reading and load control (i.e.,utility-type applications), automotive uses (e.g., charging electriccars), home automation (e.g., controlling appliances, lights, etc.),and/or computer networking (e.g., Internet access), to name only a few.

Various PLC standardizing efforts are currently being undertaken aroundthe world, each with its own unique characteristics. Generally speaking,PLC systems may be implemented differently depending upon localregulations, characteristics of local power grids, etc. Examples ofcompeting PLC standards include the IEEE 1901, HomePlug AV, PowerlineIntelligent Metering Evolution (PRIME), and the ITU-T G.hn (e.g., G.9960and G.9961) specifications.

SUMMARY

Systems and methods for implementing carrier sense multiple access(CSMA) protocols in power line communications (PLC) are described. In anillustrative embodiment, a method may include performing a virtualcarrier sensing operation and, in response to the virtual carriersensing operation indicating that a communication channel is idle,calculating a contention window. The method may also include performinga physical carrier sensing operation subsequent to the virtual carriersensing operation, the physical carrier sensing operation based, atleast in part, upon the contention window. Then, in response to thephysical carrier sensing operation indicating that the communicationchannel is idle, the method may include transmitting data over thechannel.

In some cases, for example, calculating the contention window mayinclude setting a length of the contention window, and the physicalcarrier sensing operation may be carried out at a randomly selected timewithin the contention window. Also, the method may include repeating thevirtual carrier sensing operation until it indicates that thecommunication channel is idle.

Additionally or alternatively, the method may include, in response tothe physical carrier sensing operation indicating that the communicationchannel is not idle, repeating the virtual carrier sensing operationuntil it indicates that the communication channel is idle and increasingthe length of the contention window to create a modified contentionwindow. For instance, increasing the length of the contention window mayinclude increasing the length of the contention window by an amountcorresponding to a number of previous attempts to transmit the data. Themethod may also include performing a second physical carrier sensingoperation subsequent to the repeated virtual carrier sensing operation,the second physical carrier sensing operation based, at least in part,upon the modified contention window. For example, the second physicalcarrier sensing operation may be carried out at a randomly selected timewithin the modified contention window. The method may further include,in response to the second physical carrier sensing operation indicatingthat the communication channel is idle, transmitting data over thecommunication channel.

In another illustrative embodiment, a method may include: (a) inresponse to a virtual carrier sense operation indicating that an accesschannel is free, performing a physical carrier sensing operation based,at least in part, upon an original time window; (b) in response to thephysical carrier sensing operation indicating that the access channel isfree, initiating a data transmission over the access channel; (c) inresponse to the data transmission being a unicast transmission and anacknowledgment message not being received by the PLC device,incrementing a backoff counter and increasing the original time window;and (d) in response to the backoff counter having a value smaller than amaximum number of allowed backoff operations, repeating at least (a) and(b) using the increased time window.

In some implementations, increasing the original time window may includeincreasing a length of the original time window. Also, the physicalcarrier sensing operation may be performed at a randomly selected timewithin the original time window, and the repeated physical carriersensing operation may be performed at a randomly selected time withinthe incremented time window.

Furthermore, the method may include monitoring an output of the virtualcarrier sensing operation until it indicates that the access channel isfree. Additionally or alternatively, the method may include, in responseto the physical carrier sensing operation indicating that the accesschannel is busy, increasing the backoff counter, maintaining theoriginal time window, and performing a second physical carrier sensingoperation subsequent to a second virtual carrier sensing operation, thesecond physical carrier sensing operation based, at least in part, uponthe original time window. For example, the second physical carriersensing operation may be carried out at a randomly selected time withinthe original time window. The method may also include in response to thesecond physical carrier sensing operation indicating that the accesschannel is free, transmitting data over the access channel.

In yet another illustrative embodiment, the method may includetransmitting data at a time selected within a contention window inresponse to a determination by a carrier sense operation that a channelis available. The method may also include determining that the datatransmission is a unicast transmission, determining that anacknowledgement message has not been received, and increasing thecontention window. The method may further include re-transmitting thedata at a time selected within the increased contention window.

The method may also include re-transmitting the data in response toanother determination by a repeated carrier sense operation that thechannel is available. In various implementations, the carrier senseoperation may be a virtual carrier sense operation, a physical carriersense operation, or a combination of physical and virtual carrier senseoperations.

In some embodiments, one or more of the methods described herein may beperformed by one or more PLC devices (e.g., a PLC modem, etc.). In otherembodiments, a tangible electronic storage medium may have programinstructions stored thereon that, upon execution by a processor withinone or more PLC devices, cause the one or more PLC devices to performone or more operations disclosed herein. Examples of such a processorinclude, but are not limited to, a digital signal processor (DSP), anapplication specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a system-on-chip (SoC)circuit, a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a microprocessor, or amicrocontroller. In yet other embodiments, a PLC device may include atleast one processor and a memory coupled to the at least one processor,the memory configured to store program instructions executable by the atleast one processor to cause the PLC device to perform one or moreoperations disclosed herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Having thus described the invention(s) in general terms, reference willnow be made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a PLC system according to some embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a PLC device or modem according to someembodiments.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a PLC gateway according to someembodiments.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a PLC data concentrator according to someembodiments.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a prior art CSMA technique.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a CSMA technique according to some embodiments.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an integrated circuit according to someembodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The invention(s) now will be described more fully hereinafter withreference to the accompanying drawings. The invention(s) may, however,be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed aslimited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodimentsare provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, andwill fully convey the scope of the invention(s) to a person of ordinaryskill in the art. A person of ordinary skill in the art may be able touse the various embodiments of the invention(s).

Turning to FIG. 1, a power line communication (PLC) system is depictedaccording to some embodiments. Medium voltage (MV) power lines 103 fromsubstation 101 typically carry voltage in the tens of kilovolts range.Transformer 104 steps the MV power down to low voltage (LV) power on LVlines 105, carrying voltage in the range of 100-240 VAC. Transformer 104is typically designed to operate at very low frequencies in the range of50-60 Hz. Transformer 104 does not typically allow high frequencies,such as signals greater than 100 KHz, to pass between LV lines 105 andMV lines 103. LV lines 105 feed power to customers via meters 106 a-n,which are typically mounted on the outside of residences 102 a-n.(Although referred to as “residences,” premises 102 a-n may include anytype of building, facility or location where electric power is receivedand/or consumed.) A breaker panel, such as panel 107, provides aninterface between meter 106 n and electrical wires 108 within residence102 n. Electrical wires 108 deliver power to outlets 110, switches 111and other electric devices within residence 102 n.

The power line topology illustrated in FIG. 1 may be used to deliverhigh-speed communications to residences 102 a-n. In someimplementations, power line communications modems or gateways 112 a-nmay be coupled to LV power lines 105 at meter 106 a-n. PLCmodems/gateways 112 a-n may be used to transmit and receive data signalsover MV/LV lines 103/105. Such data signals may be used to supportmetering and power delivery applications (e.g., smart gridapplications), communication systems, high speed Internet, telephony,video conferencing, and video delivery, to name a few. By transportingtelecommunications and/or data signals over a power transmissionnetwork, there is no need to install new cabling to each subscriber 102a-n. Thus, by using existing electricity distribution systems to carrydata signals, significant cost savings are possible.

An illustrative method for transmitting data over power lines may use acarrier signal having a frequency different from that of the powersignal. The carrier signal may be modulated by the data, for example,using an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) scheme or thelike.

PLC modems or gateways 112 a-n at residences 102 a-n use the MV/LV powergrid to carry data signals to and from PLC data concentrator 114 withoutrequiring additional wiring. Concentrator 114 may be coupled to eitherMV line 103 or LV line 105. Modems or gateways 112 a-n may supportapplications such as high-speed broadband Internet links, narrowbandcontrol applications, low bandwidth data collection applications, or thelike. In a home environment, for example, modems or gateways 112 a-n mayfurther enable home and building automation in heat and airconditioning, lighting, and security. Also, PLC modems or gateways 112a-n may enable AC or DC charging of electric vehicles and otherappliances. An example of an AC or DC charger is illustrated as PLCdevice 113. Outside the premises, power line communication networks mayprovide street lighting control and remote power meter data collection.

One or more concentrators 114 may be coupled to control center 130(e.g., a utility company) via network 120. Network 120 may include, forexample, an IP-based network, the Internet, a cellular network, a WiFinetwork, a WiMax network, or the like. As such, control center 130 maybe configured to collect power consumption and other types of relevantinformation from gateway(s) 112 and/or device(s) 113 throughconcentrator(s) 114. Additionally or alternatively, control center 130may be configured to implement smart grid policies and other regulatoryor commercial rules by communicating such rules to each gateway(s) 112and/or device(s) 113 through concentrator(s) 114.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of PLC device 113 according to someembodiments. As illustrated, AC interface 201 may be coupled toelectrical wires 108 a and 108 b inside of premises 112 n in a mannerthat allows PLC device 113 to switch the connection between wires 108 aand 108 b off using a switching circuit or the like. In otherembodiments, however, AC interface 201 may be connected to a single wire108 (i.e., without breaking wire 108 into wires 108 a and 108 b) andwithout providing such switching capabilities. In operation, ACinterface 201 may allow PLC engine 202 to receive and transmit PLCsignals over wires 108 a-b. In some cases, PLC device 113 may be a PLCmodem. Additionally or alternatively, PLC device 113 may be a part of asmart grid device (e.g., an AC or DC charger, a meter, etc.), anappliance, or a control module for other electrical elements locatedinside or outside of premises 112 n (e.g., street lighting, etc.).

PLC engine 202 may be configured to transmit and/or receive PLC signalsover wires 108 a and/or 108 b via AC interface 201 using a particularfrequency band. In some embodiments, PLC engine 202 may be configured totransmit OFDM signals, although other types of modulation schemes may beused. As such, PLC engine 202 may include or otherwise be configured tocommunicate with metrology or monitoring circuits (not shown) that arein turn configured to measure power consumption characteristics ofcertain devices or appliances via wires 108, 108 a, and/or 108 b. PLCengine 202 may receive such power consumption information, encode it asone or more PLC signals, and transmit it over wires 108, 108 a, and/or108 b to higher-level PLC devices (e.g., PLC gateways 112 n, dataaggregators 114, etc.) for further processing. Conversely, PLC engine202 may receive instructions and/or other information from suchhigher-level PLC devices encoded in PLC signals, for example, to allowPLC engine 202 to select a particular frequency band in which tooperate.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of PLC gateway 112 according to someembodiments. As illustrated in this example, gateway engine 301 iscoupled to meter interface 302, local communication interface 304, andfrequency band usage database 304. Meter interface 302 is coupled tometer 106, and local communication interface 304 is coupled to one ormore of a variety of PLC devices such as, for example, PLC device 113.Local communication interface 304 may provide a variety of communicationprotocols such as, for example, ZIGBEE, BLUETOOTH, WI-FI, WI-MAX,ETHERNET, etc., which may enable gateway 112 to communicate with a widevariety of different devices and appliances. In operation, gatewayengine 301 may be configured to collect communications from PLC device113 and/or other devices, as well as meter 106, and serve as aninterface between these various devices and PLC data concentrator 114.Gateway engine 301 may also be configured to allocate frequency bands tospecific devices and/or to provide information to such devices thatenable them to self-assign their own operating frequencies.

In some embodiments, PLC gateway 112 may be disposed within or nearpremises 102 n and serve as a gateway to all PLC communications toand/or from premises 102 n. In other embodiments, however, PLC gateway112 may be absent and PLC devices 113 (as well as meter 106 n and/orother appliances) may communicate directly with PLC data concentrator114. When PLC gateway 112 is present, it may include database 304 withrecords of frequency bands currently used, for example, by various PLCdevices 113 within premises 102 n. An example of such a record mayinclude, for instance, device identification information (e.g., serialnumber, device ID, etc.), application profile, device class, and/orcurrently allocated frequency band. As such, gateway engine 301 may usedatabase 304 in assigning, allocating, or otherwise managing frequencybands assigned to its various PLC devices.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a PLC data concentrator according to someembodiments. Gateway interface 401 is coupled to data concentratorengine 402 and may be configured to communicate with one or more PLCgateways 112 a-n. Network interface 403 is also coupled to dataconcentrator engine 402 and may be configured to communicate withnetwork 120. In operation, data concentrator engine 402 may be used tocollect information and data from multiple gateways 112 a-n beforeforwarding the data to control center 130. In cases where PLC gateways112 a-n are absent, gateway interface 401 may be replaced with a meterand/or device interface (now shown) configured to communicate directlywith meters 116 a-n, PLC devices 113, and/or other appliances. Further,if PLC gateways 112 a-n are absent, frequency usage database 404 may beconfigured to store records similar to those described above withrespect to database 304.

Generally speaking, prior to transmitting a signal across power lines orwires 103, 105, and/or 108, a PLC device may attempt to detect whether agiven communication or access channel (e.g., frequency band) iscurrently in use. Channel access may be accomplished, for example, byusing the Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance(CSMA/CA) mechanism with a random backoff time. The random backoffmechanism may spread the time over which PLC devices attempt totransmit, thereby reducing the probability of collision. In other words,each time a device wishes to transmit data frames, it may wait for arandom period. If the channel is found to be idle or free, following therandom backoff, the device may transmit its data. If the channel isfound to be busy, following the random backoff, the device may wait foranother random period before trying to access the channel again.

In various embodiments, different CSMA techniques may be employed. Forinstance, physical carrier sense (PCS) may be provided by a physicallayer (PHY) upon detection of a preamble. In contrast, a virtual carriersense (VCS) mechanism may be provided by a media access control (MAC)layer by tracking the expected duration of channel occupancy. Virtualcarrier sense may be set, for example, by the length of received packet(or upon collision). In these cases, VCS tracks or estimates theexpected duration of the “busy” state of the medium (i.e., when a givenPLC device is transmitting data over power lines or wires 103, 105,and/or 108).

FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of a prior art CSMA method that may beapplicable, for instance, to a non-beacon personal area network (PAN) asdescribed in the IEEE 802.15.4 standard. Using this method, a randombackoff mechanism spreads the time over which stations attempt totransmit (thereby reducing the probability of collision). This CSMAalgorithm is typically used before the transmission of data or MACcommand frames, and it is implemented using units of time called“backoff periods,” where one backoff period is equal tounitBackoffPeriod symbols.

As illustrated in block 501, each device may maintain two variables foreach transmission attempt: NB and BE. Specifically, NB is the number oftimes the CSMA algorithm was required to backoff while attempting thecurrent transmission, which may be initialized to “0” before each newtransmission attempt. On the other hand, BE is the backoff exponent,which is related to how many backoff periods a device shall wait beforeattempting to assess a channel and which may be initialized to the valueof minBE. The method may initialize NB and BE and then proceed to block502. At block 502, the method may create a delay, for a random number ofcomplete backoff periods (e.g., in the range 0 to 2^(BE)−1), and thenrequest that a PCS operation be performed in block 503. The backoff timemay then be given by Backoff Time=Random(2^(BE)−1)×aSlotTime; whereaSlotTime is equal to the duration of a contention window slot (e.g., bynumber of symbols).

At block 504, if the channel is assessed to be busy, the method mayincrement both NB and BE by one in block 506, while ensuring that BEdoes not exceed maxBE (for high priority packets, maxBE may be equal tominBE). At block 507, if the value of NB is less than or equal tomaxCSMABackoffs, the method may return to block 502. If the value of NBis greater than maxCSMABackoffs, the method shall terminate, forexample, with a channel access failure status or indication. Returningto block 504, if the channel is assessed to be idle, the method mayimmediately begin transmission of the frame at block 505.

As the inventors hereof have recognized with respect to the methoddescribed in FIG. 5, however, PCS is sensed prematurely. Each PCSinterval is calculated independently of a VCS sensing result. If onenode is sending a large packet, the competing node may fail easily dueto unnecessary PCS trials. Additionally or alternatively, contentionwindow increases prematurely. Every time PCS is busy, the BE isincreased. Thus, if a node fails the first time of PCS, it then has ahigher chance than the others to fail the following PCS due to itsincreased window, creating unfairness problems.

To address these and other issues, embodiments discussed herein providetechniques for using one or more VCS operations to save one or moreunnecessary PCS operations. Also, in some implementations, thecontention window may be increased when an ACK message or package islost, thus differentiating a collision event from detection of a busymedium. In various embodiments, the techniques discussed herein may beapplied in PLC mesh networks with random medium access, although othertypes of networks may also be used. Furthermore, these embodiments maybe used with various PLC standards, such as, for example, the G3-PLCstandard or the like.

Turning now to FIG. 6, a flowchart of a CSMA method is depictedaccording to some embodiments. In various embodiments, the method ofFIG. 6 may be performed, for example, by PLC device 103, PLC gateway112, and/or PLC data concentrator 114. At block 601, the method mayinclude setting one or more backoff parameters (e.g., an NB counterand/or BE) to their initial values. At block 602, the method may performa VCS operation, for example, until the VCS operation determines that acommunication channel is idle or free. Then, at blocks 602 and 603, themethod may create a delay and request that a PCS operation be performedsimilarly as in blocks 501 and 502 of FIG. 5. In contrast with themethod of FIG. 5, however, in this case PCS is tried when VCS (virtualcarrier sensing) is not busy. That is, VCS is consulted before PCS. WhenVCS becomes idle from a busy state, all the nodes (i.e., PLC devices)may be aligned at the same time for a fair competition for the channel.As such, both VCS and PCS may be used, and VCS saves the unnecessary PCSso that CSMA does not fail, for example, due to large packettransmission.

At block 605, the method may determine whether the channel is idle orfree based on the PCS operation. If so, the method may send data overthe channel at block 606. At block 607, the method may determine whetherthe data transmission is a broadcast or a unicast transmission (thelatter involves receiving an acknowledgement message in response to asuccessful transmission, whereas the former does not). If the datatransmission is a unicast transmission, the method may determine whetheran acknowledgement has been received at block 608. If the datatransmission is a broadcast transmission or if an acknowledgement hasbeen received for a unicast transmission, the method may end with asuccess indication. Otherwise, at block 609, both NB and BE may beincremented.

Returning to block 605, if the channel is busy, only NB may beincremented (but not the size of the contention window). Then, at block611, if the maximum number of backoffs has been reached, the method mayend with a failure indication. Otherwise the method may return to block602. As such, BE may be increased if an acknowledgment (ACK) message orpacket is not received (in the case of a unicast transmission). When PCSreturns idle, a data frame may be sent out. Otherwise, the method maywait for the VCS to finish and BE remains the same value. When data issent out without an ACK message being received, BE is increased. After abusy indication from the PCS operation, however, the node or device maynot increase its contention window so that all the nodes can have a fairCSMA competition. That is, only after an ACK is lost, thus suggesting apossible packet collision and crowded medium, may the node increase thecontention window to compete with other devices for use of the channel.

It should be noted that, when an ACK is lost, potentially there are twomost likely reasons. First, channel condition may be bad, in which casethe sender may try to transmit again without increasing the contentionwindow size. Second, there may have occurred a packet collision (due tothe channel being busy), in which case competing senders may increasetheir time or contention window size before trying to transmit again. Insome implementations, a sender and a receiver may interact with eachother regarding the (past) lost ACK using extra bits in NACK (if NACK isable to be sent) or some additional exchange of information. Thereceiver may use the information to help the sender(s) differentiate thebad channel condition from the packet collision, so that the sender mayrespond differently when an ACK is lost. Additionally or alternatively,a receiver may also warn a sender about the bad channel using extra bitsin the ACK packet if the receiver found the received packet has a lowlink quality indicator (LQI).

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an integrated circuit according to someembodiments. In some cases, one or more of the devices and/orapparatuses shown in FIGS. 2-4 may be implemented as shown in FIG. 7. Insome embodiments, integrated circuit 702 may be a digital signalprocessor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), asystem-on-chip (SoC) circuit, a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), amicroprocessor, a microcontroller, or the like. Integrated circuit 702is coupled to one or more peripherals 704 and external memory 703. Insome cases, external memory 703 may be used to store and/or maintaindatabases 304 and/or 404 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. Further, integratedcircuit 702 may include a driver for communicating signals to externalmemory 703 and another driver for communicating signals to peripherals704. Power supply 701 is also provided which supplies the supplyvoltages to integrated circuit 702 as well as one or more supplyvoltages to memory 703 and/or peripherals 704. In some embodiments, morethan one instance of integrated circuit 702 may be included (and morethan one external memory 703 may be included as well).

Peripherals 704 may include any desired circuitry, depending on the typeof PLC system. For example, in an embodiment, peripherals 704 mayimplement local communication interface 303 and include devices forvarious types of wireless communication, such as WI-FI, ZIGBEE,BLUETOOTH, cellular, global positioning system, etc. Peripherals 704 mayalso include additional storage, including RAM storage, solid-statestorage, or disk storage. In some cases, peripherals 704 may includeuser interface devices such as a display screen, including touch displayscreens or multi-touch display screens, keyboard or other input devices,microphones, speakers, etc.

External memory 703 may include any type of memory. For example,external memory 703 may include SRAM, nonvolatile RAM (NVRAM, such as“flash” memory), and/or dynamic RAM (DRAM) such as synchronous DRAM(SDRAM), double data rate (DDR, DDR2, DDR3, etc.) SDRAM, DRAM, etc.External memory 703 may include one or more memory modules to which thememory devices are mounted, such as single inline memory modules(SIMMs), dual inline memory modules (DIMMs), etc.

It will be understood that various operations illustrated in FIG. 6 maybe executed simultaneously and/or sequentially. It will be furtherunderstood that each operation may be performed in any order and may beperformed once or repetitiously. In various embodiments, the modulesshown in FIGS. 2-4 may represent sets of software routines, logicfunctions, and/or data structures that are configured to performspecified operations. Although these modules are shown as distinctlogical blocks, in other embodiments at least some of the operationsperformed by these modules may be combined in to fewer blocks.Conversely, any given one of the modules shown in FIGS. 2-4 may beimplemented such that its operations are divided among two or morelogical blocks. Moreover, although shown with a particularconfiguration, in other embodiments these various modules may berearranged in other suitable ways.

Many of the operations described herein may be implemented in hardware,software, and/or firmware, and/or any combination thereof. Whenimplemented in software, code segments perform the necessary tasks oroperations. The program or code segments may be stored in aprocessor-readable, computer-readable, or machine-readable medium. Theprocessor-readable, computer-readable, or machine-readable medium mayinclude any device or medium that can store or transfer information.Examples of such a processor-readable medium include an electroniccircuit, a semiconductor memory device, a flash memory, a ROM, anerasable ROM (EROM), a floppy diskette, a compact disk, an optical disk,a hard disk, a fiber optic medium, etc.

Software code segments may be stored in any volatile or non-volatilestorage device, such as a hard drive, flash memory, solid state memory,optical disk, CD, DVD, computer program product, or other memory device,that provides tangible computer-readable or machine-readable storage fora processor or a middleware container service. In other embodiments, thememory may be a virtualization of several physical storage devices,wherein the physical storage devices are of the same or different kinds.The code segments may be downloaded or transferred from storage to aprocessor or container via an internal bus, another computer network,such as the Internet or an intranet, or via other wired or wirelessnetworks.

Many modifications and other embodiments of the invention(s) will cometo mind to one skilled in the art to which the invention(s) pertainhaving the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoingdescriptions, and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is to beunderstood that the invention(s) are not to be limited to the specificembodiments disclosed. Although specific terms are employed herein, theyare used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes oflimitation.

1. A method comprising: periodically determining, by a communicationdevice, whether a communication channel is idle or busy for atransmission attempt; adjusting, by the communication device, a backofftime upon detecting a collision event while the communication channel isdetermined idle; refraining, by the communication device, from adjustingthe backoff time while the communication channel is determined busy orwhen the collision event is not detected; and suspending, by thecommunication device, the transmission attempt during the backoff time.2. The method of claim 1, wherein the periodically determining whetherthe communication channel is idle or busy includes: performing, by amedia access control (MAC) layer of the communication device, a virtualcarrier sense (VCS) operation to determine an expected occupancy of thecommunication channel.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein theperiodically determining whether the communication channel is idle orbusy includes: performing, by a physical layer of the communicationdevice, a physical carrier sense (PCS) operation after the expectedoccupancy expires to determine whether the communication channel is idleor busy.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the suspending thetransmission attempt includes suspending access to the communicationchannel during the backoff time after the VCS operation and before thePCS operation.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the detecting thecollision event includes: transmitting, by the communication device, aunicast package to the communication channel; and detecting, by thecommunication device, the collision event when an acknowledge message isnot received from the communication channel within a predetermined timeperiod after the unicast package is transmitted.
 6. The method of claim1, wherein the adjusting the backoff time includes increasing a backoffexponent related to a contention window.
 7. The method of claim 1,wherein the refraining from adjusting the backoff time includesmaintaining unchanged a backoff exponent related to a contention window.8. The method of claim 1, further comprising: incrementing, by thecommunication device, a backoff counter upon determining thecommunication channel is busy or detecting the collision event;repeating, by the communication device, the transmission attempt whenthe backoff counter is less than or equal to a predetermined threshold;and terminating, by the communication device, the transmission attemptwhen the backoff counter exceeds the predetermined threshold.
 9. Themethod of claim 1, wherein: the communication channel includes afrequency band conducted by a power line; and the communication deviceincludes a power line communication (PLC) device coupled with a dataconcentrator via the communication channel.
 10. A power linecommunication (PLC) device comprising: a gateway engine configured toaccess a communication network via a communication channel conducted bya power line; and a memory coupled to the gateway engine and storinginstructions, upon implemented by the gateway engine, cause the gatewayengine to: periodically determine whether the communication channel isidle or busy for a transmission attempt; adjust a backoff time upondetecting a collision event while the communication channel isdetermined idle; refrain from adjusting the backoff time while thecommunication channel is determined busy or when the collision event isnot detected; and suspend the transmission attempt during the backofftime.
 11. The PLC device of claim 10, wherein: the gateway engineincludes a media access control (MAC) layer configured to periodicallydetermine whether the communication channel is idle or busy byperforming a virtual carrier sense (VCS) operation to determine anexpected occupancy of the communication channel.
 12. The PLC device ofclaim 11, wherein: the gateway engine includes a physical layerconfigured to periodically determine whether the communication channelis idle or busy by performing a physical carrier sense (PCS) operationafter the expected occupancy expires to determine whether thecommunication channel is idle or busy.
 13. The PLC device of claim 12,wherein the gateway engine is configured to suspend the transmissionattempt by suspending access to the communication channel during thebackoff time after the VCS operation and before the PCS operation. 14.The PLC device of claim 10, wherein the gateway engine is configured todetect the collision event by: transmitting a unicast package to thecommunication channel; and detecting the collision event when anacknowledge message is not received from the communication channelwithin a predetermined time period after the unicast package istransmitted.
 15. The PLC device of claim 10, wherein the gateway engineis configured to adjust the backoff time by increasing a backoffexponent related to a contention window.
 16. The PLC device of claim 10,wherein the gateway engine is configured to refrain from adjusting thebackoff time by maintaining unchanged a backoff exponent related to acontention window.
 17. The PLC device of claim 10, wherein the gatewayengine is configured to: increment a backoff counter upon determiningthe communication channel is busy or detecting the collision event;repeat the transmission attempt when the backoff counter is less than orequal to a predetermined threshold; and terminate the transmissionattempt when the backoff counter exceeds the predetermined threshold.18. The PLC device of claim 10, further comprising: a database coupledwith the gateway engine, the database configured to store frequency datarelated to the communication channel; wherein the gateway engine isconfigured to manage the communication channel based on the storedfrequency data.
 19. A nontransitory computer readable medium storinginstructions that, upon implemented by a gateway engine of a power linecommunication (PLC) device, cause the gateway engine to perform a methodcomprising: periodically determining whether a communication channel isidle or busy for a transmission attempt; adjusting a backoff time upondetecting a collision event while the communication channel isdetermined idle; refraining from adjusting the backoff time while thecommunication channel is determined busy or when the collision event isnot detected; and suspending the transmission attempt during the backofftime.
 20. The nontransitory computer readable medium of claim 20,wherein periodically determining whether the communication channel isidle or busy includes: directing a media access control (MAC) layer ofthe gateway engine to perform a virtual carrier sense (VCS) operation todetermine an expected occupancy of the communication channel.